ILGA RELEASES UPR ADVOCACY TOOLKIT FOR ACTIVISTS WORKING ON SOGIESC ISSUES

Guatemala City, 21 November 2017 – Today, the International Lesbianadjective/noun to describe a woman whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction is to other women. Women and non-binary people may use this term to describe themselves. More, Gayadjective to describe people whose enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional
attractions are to people of the same gender. Men, women and non-binary people may use this
term to describe themselves. More, Bisexualadjective used to describe a person who has the capacity to form enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional attractions to those of the same gender or to those of other genders. More, Transadjective/umbrella term to describe a person whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. More and Intersexan umbrella term for the spectrum of variations of sex characteristics that naturally occur within the human species. Intersex people are born with variations of sex characteristics (such as genitals, reproductive organs, hormonal and chromosomal patterns) that are more diverse than stereotypical definitions of male or female bodies. Up to 1.7% of the global population are born with such traits; yet, because their bodies are seen as different, intersex children and adults are often stigmatised and subject to harmful practices – including in medical settings - and discriminated against. More Association (ILGA) released its SOGIESCabbreviation standing for sexual orientation and gender identity & expression, and sex characteristics. More UPR Advocacy Toolkit, a brand-new guide dedicated to activists working on sexual orientationrefers to a person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to - and intimate and sexual relations with - individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender. More, gender identityrefers to a person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth. More and expression and sex characteristicsa term that refers to physical features relating to sex - including genitalia and other sexual and reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, hormones, and secondary physical features emerging from puberty. More (SOGIESC) issues, who wish to engage with this United Nationsan international organisation comprising 193 member States. It has the mission of maintaining peace and security, protecting human rights, providing humanitarian aid and ensuring economic and social development across the globe. It is a network of many different bodies and agencies, each of which has a particular role and responsibility. More mechanism.

Download the SOGIESC UPR Advocacy Toolkit in English | in Spanish

Created over ten years ago, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism which monitors and seeks to improve the human rights record of each and every UN Member State. As of 2017, over 1,375 recommendations have been made to more than 158 countries to try and improve the lives of LGBTIacronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people. Although this is not the acronym available to describe people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and sex characteristics, it is the most commonly used in United Nations spaces and advocacy. More persons. This is 2.5% of all recommendations made during the UPR process, recommendations that are often inspired by the more than 520 submissions on such issues made by civil society actors.

LGBTI defenders have been using the UPR since its very beginning, and the recommendations they advocated for have helped bring about tangible legal change in many countries worldwide. It is their experiences, and the expertise of ILGA’s Universal Periodic Review programme, that the SOGIESC UPR Advocacy Toolkit stems from.

“Over the first two cycles and beyond, defenders have developed insider knowledge of how to maximise their impact in the mechanism, and on how to advocate LGBTI human rights on such a universal stage,” explains Diana Carolina Prado Mosquera, the UN Programme and Advocacy officer who leads the UPR Programme at ILGA. “These advocacy skills have now been shared in this toolkit: the publication was developed together with 14 civil society organisations from across the world and all the six regions of ILGA, in a truly global community effort.”

The toolkit is designed as a step-by-step guide that will help LGBTI human rights defenders and their organisations to build an effective strategy when engaging in every part of the UPR process (from the very beginning to the follow-up and mid-term reporting), as well as to conduct advocacy both in their countries and in Geneva. It also includes a wealth of practical tools and examples that defenders can adapt to their specific situation and needs – such as reports, calendars, databases, and examples of SOGIESC UPR submissions.

“SOGIESC issues are often side-lined during dialogues at the international level, but the UPR is one of the few forums where there can be vital debate on LGBTI human rights with governments who may otherwise not engage with or even tolerate such discussions,” explains André du Plessis, Head of Operations at ILGA.

Civil society organisations played a big part in the process and, as such, this toolkit is a powerful allya term used to describe someone who is actively supportive of LGBTI people. It encompasses straight and cisgender allies, as well as LGBTI people who actively support other populations within the community at large. More of every LGBTI human rights defender wishing to engage with it. It is hoped that the practical information and successful examples included will help inspire defenders in further conversations and advocacy with their governments as the demands of our communities are mainstreamed into human rights discussions.

“This guide is a global community effort,” comment Ruth Baldacchino and Helen Kennedy, co-secretaries general at ILGA. “Built upon expertise within ILGA’s UPR Programme, it has been developed with input from ILGA member organisations that have worked with ILGA in their respective country’s UPR review, and is supported by all six ILGA regions. For a universal process, it really is a universal publication. We hope you will find it useful as you engage in the UPR in the future!”

The toolkit was developed together with the following 14 civil societies organisations:

Chouf – Tunisia
Genderrefers to a social construct which places cultural and social expectations on individuals based on their assigned sex. More Dynamix – South Africa
Haus of Khameleon – Fiji
Humanity First Cameroon – Cameroon
Human Rights Campaign – US
National LGBT* Rights Organization LGL – Lithuania
Manodiversa – Plurinational State of Bolivia
Mulabi – Costa Rica
Oogachaga – Singapore
OII – Europe
Centro de Promoción y Defensa de los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos (PROMSEX)
Rainbow Action against Sexuality Minority Discriminationunequal or unfair treatment which can be based on a range of grounds - such as age, ethnic background, disability, and diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions or sex characteristics, amongst others. More – Republic of Korea
Samoa Fa’afafine Association – Samoa
Transgender Network Switzerland (TGNS) – Switzerland

It was also developed together with the 6 regions of ILGA:

ILGA Asia
ILGA-Europe
ILGALAC
ILGA North America
ILGA Oceania
Pan Africa ILGA